The Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTES) is a tri-service UK military organisation based at
MoD Boscombe Down
MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the De ...
, Wiltshire. Primarily, the squadron is responsible for test and evaluation of rotary wing aircraft and equipment, or their associated modifications.
Squadron Role
To test and evaluate rotary wing aircraft and their associated equipment and weapon systems to generate evidence to support recommendations for Military Aircraft Release / Release To Service or advice for Service Deviation and assist in MoD R&D programmes.
History
RWTES (formerly D Sqn) was formed in September 1950 at Boscombe Down as part of the
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment
The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, the unit moved in 1939 to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, where its wo ...
(A&AEE). The squadron came into existence as helicopters became ever more prevalent in the UK Armed Forces and consolidated test and evaluation was required. Over the years, the parent organisation has changed: A&AEE became part of the Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation, absorbing the work of
RAE Bedford
RAE Bedford was a research site of the Royal Aircraft Establishment between 1946 and 1994. It was located near the village of Thurleigh, north of the town of Bedford in England and was the site of aircraft experimental development work.
In t ...
and
RAE Farnborough
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...
; then part of the
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) was a part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) between 1995 and 2 July 2001. At the time it was the United Kingdom's largest science and technology organisation. It was regarded by its official h ...
(DERA); and on 2 July 2001 a part of
RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air C ...
(now Air Command) working in a public-private partnering arrangement with
QinetiQ.
Personnel
RWTES is a military tri-service squadron commanded, over alternative tours, by a Royal Navy Commander and Army Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel. There are 14 other
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...
s from the Royal Navy, Army Air Corps and Royal Air Force plus 3 highly experienced aircrewman. These military (or ex-military) personnel provide recent operational role experience and ensure all testing is related to current or future military operations. As well as being very experienced and above-average pilots, all test pilots are graduates of the
Empire Test Pilots School
The Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type ...
(ETPS) also located at MOD Boscombe Down, or one of the other three internationally recognised military test pilot training academies in the USA or France.
Typical work
Any new aircraft, new equipment or modification for use in British military aircraft needs to be safe to be flown in the intended role and effective at prosecuting that role. RWTES personnel are responsible for planning, executing and reporting flight test trials for the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
,
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
. Typical trials include assessment of performance, flying qualities, airworthiness, systems and safety modifications. Recent examples are:
* Bringing new aircraft into service;
* Mid-life upgrades to in-service aircraft;
* Improved night vision devices;
* Improvements to aircraft performance;
* Updated Defensive Aids Suites;
* New radios and other communication devices.
Trials involving new aircraft major modifications to in-service aircraft are conducted in Combined Test Teams with representatives from the manufacturer (e.g.
AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccani ...
), RWTES, QinetiQ, and the Operational Evaluation Unit (OEU) of the Arm or Service (e.g. the Royal Navy's
Lynx OEU).
Aircraft
RWTES have use of a number of aircraft, permanently based at Boscombe Down, including 2
Sea King, and 4
Gazelles
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and ''Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...
. The longest serving of which is Gazelle HT3 XZ936, commissioned in May 1978 and living its entire life at Boscombe Down. Two of the Gazelles are painted in the classic A&AEE colours of red, white and blue; they are used for continuation training and trials work as well for instruction use by ETPS. One Sea King is an "instrumented" HC4 Junglie and the other is an uninstrumented HU5. Flight test instrumentation (FTI) is fitted to some aircraft to accurately measure parameters including performance, sideslip, 'G' and control activity.
Additional military aircraft are allotted to Boscombe Down for specific trials; including the
AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night v ...
,
Chinook,
Merlin,
Puma, plus any other in-service military helicopter.
Training
In 1914 the Experimental Flight was established at
Upavon
Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...
to assess the new aeroplanes and their equipment for this revolutionary new means of warfare. The Experimental Flight expanded in the inter-war years and in 1943 a dedicated school was set up by Air Marshal Sir
Ralph Sorley
Air Marshal Sir Ralph Squire Sorley, (9 January 1898 – 17 November 1974) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He began was a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, and rose to senior command in the Se ...
, the controller of Research and Development, as he was concerned by the rising number of fatalities in test flying and a lack of standardisation of flying techniques. The Test Pilots' Training Flight at Boscombe Down was formed, now called the Empire Test Pilots School, one of a succession of schools with the Empire prefix.
QinetiQ: History
It served the Air Forces of the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
and has been attended by experienced pilots from around the world.
Working alongside QinetiQ
The MOD conducts its flight test and military evaluation activities in a public-private partnering arrangement with QinetiQ. The Armed Forces provide specialist personnel to work in partnership with QinetiQ. For regulatory purposes the QinetiQ-MOD partnering arrangement that is approved to conduct flight testing is referred to as the Air Test and Evaluation Centre (ATEC).
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2013
British aircraft squadrons
Air force test units and formations
Organisations based in Wiltshire
1950 establishments in the United Kingdom